When you've placed yourself where you need to be, kept at something past your initial doubts, and taken a risk at failing, you're running at 100 percent. Weblog The Simple Dollar suggests thinking of challenges that way—40/30/30—to stay motivated.

What is the 40-30-30 rule? Simply put, it's an argument that when you prepare for anything in life, only 40% of the preparation is physical – the rest is mental. Thirty percent of preparation is technical skill and experience, and the second thirty percent is the willingness to take risks.

Trent's quick essay on how those ratios come into play, both day-to-day and on personal or career projects, launches off a post at The 99 Percent blog, and is worth reading if you find yourself not exactly hitting your marks at getting up, getting into something, and sticking with it when it doesn't quite seem practical.

We always take these sorts of broad self-help guidelines with a grain of salt, but often they are helpful in examining how we approach work and life, which in itself can be a very helpful exercise. So how about you: Does risk stress you out and make you more anxious or do you find it motivating? What are some of your best tips for prepping for the challenges life throws at you? Talk about it in the comments.